5 Ways I Invest in Myself as a Speaker and Woman in Leadership

A few years ago, I wrote something on my vision board that felt exciting, ambitious and, at the time, a little out of reach:

I want to become an international speaker and inspire people globally to change their life.

I could picture myself on stages, sharing my message, connecting with audiences and using my voice to make an impact.

What I didn't fully understand back then was: what are the practical steps that would take to turn that vision into reality?

This is the thing more female visionaries need to understand: visibility comes with making financial investments.

It's a necessary part of growing your reach, building your audience, strengthening your personal brand, refining your message and gaining the experience that helps you become the speaker and leader you want to be eventually paid to be.

Over the past 12 months, I've gone from being invisible to stepping onto speaking stages, founding Women Leaders Club Canada and hosting my own events in Toronto, bringing ambitious women together in rooms designed for connection, visibility and growth.

I'm still building that vision, and I have many more leaps and bounds to make. But when I look back at how far I've come, I can see how the financial investments I've made in myself have helped me grow not only as a speaker, but also as a founder, a community leader and a woman willing to put herself out there.

 I wanted to share five of the ways I'm investing in myself as I continue building my visibility, growing my speaking reputation and working towards the vision I first wrote down on that board.

Sometimes, bringing your vision to life isn't just about getting clear on what you want. It's also about being willing to invest in becoming the person you desire to be right now.

1. Photo and Video Content for Social Media

I'd break this down into three main types of content to prioritise:

1. Professional Headshots you can give to event organisers when they promote you as a speaker at your event (head to shoulder).

2. Videos of you speaking on stage, even if it's to a small room of 5 people. Make sure you invest in a videographer who can capture your entire talk, or at least parts of your talk, depending on how long it is.

3. Photos for Personal Branding which represent you and your personality. Personally, I don't like seeing AI-generated pictures. As a speaker and community builder, real photos are more authentic to me, and it's something I'll still invest money into. This doesn't need to be professional photography. In fact, the more candid, the better reach it has on LinkedIn and Instagram.

I invest anywhere between CA$ 300 - CA$600 on a videographer when I host my own events, or if I am speaking at an event and want my own video footage.

Remember, you don't need to invest this money all the time, but when you're getting started especially, it increases your credibility and professionalism.

2. Paying to Speak On Stage

A controversial topic to some people! Paying on stage is the fastest way I've increased my visibility as someone who had no prior, professional speaking experience.

This year (2026), I've invested in three different speaking events/programmes in Toronto, Dubai and UK. For all of them, I had a public speaking coach/professional who taught me essential skills and helped me build my talk. I then got the opportunity to speak on stage and get photo and video assets.

These investments have brought me a tonne of clarity on my speaker brand and positioning, made it easier for me to sell tickets for my own events, and has made me more visible across LinkedIn and Instagram.

Some people are wary of paying to speak on stage, and of course, you need to do the research to make sure it's the right opportunity for you and worth the investment. As an event organiser myself, people don't always see the fact you're spending thousands of dollars on the venue itself and marketing through ads to sell tickets.

Paying to speak is beneficial to both the speaker and the organiser. It can give the speaker access to a strong room of potential clients/customers, and you're putting your public speaking skills into practice in real time.

You have to pay to speak, to eventually get PAID to speak. This is how the industry works.

Ways to check paying to speak on stage is worth your investment:

1. Who is in the audience? If these people could turn into future paid clients or customers, you're exposing yourself to a room of opportunity.

2. Do you get any photo/video assets included? This is pretty reasonable to include if you're paying to speak somewhere.

3. Is this going to get me 1 step closer to building my speaking brand? If the answer is yes, and you can make the investment, this may be worth it! It takes lots of experience and reps to eventually get paid to speak. There is power in proximity of being seen as the speaker and showing up, even before you're feeling 'ready'.

4. Is there any pre or post event promo? Check whether the event organiser actively promotes you as a speaker on social media and gives you a speaker banner you can use. I call this a 'silent marketer' because you don't always see the financial return immediately, but people are seeing your face on professional events. That carries a level of credibility that puts you at a higher level than most.

3. Travel and Get Into New Rooms

As I am writing this, I am flying to Budapest tomorrow for the Conscious Womens Summit hosted by Cynthia Orosz, who is also the Ambassador of Women Leaders Club Canada.

I LOVE investing to be in rooms with other influential and successful women. Whenever I travel, I really visualise myself being that woman that gets booked to speak on global stages. To become her, you have to first ACT like her right now. I've paid for the visionary ticket, which cost EUR 500 and gives me access to the backstage room with the speakers and other VIP experiences.

Earlier this year, I went to New York for the first time for the opening of Women Leaders Club New York, and made some new connections. One of those connections became a speaker at my event at the W Toronto in September 2026!

You never know where a connection will lead you to. A speaking opportunity, a client, a collaboration or just a supportive friend.

I've invested many times into local events in Canada, which has helped grow my regional network massively. But travelling is a fun experience, especially if you have a desire to impact people globally.

4. Appearance

By far, this is one of the best investments I have made this year. I've upgraded my wardrobe, invested in a hot brush for my hair, done lip filler for the first time and prioritised skin care.

For me, it's not materialism. It's about feeling and looking good. If I'm investing in my appearance, I ask whether it's coming from a place of love and expansion, or insecurity.

There's a difference between investing in how you look because you love yourself, enjoy expressing yourself and want to enhance the way you feel vs doing it because you believe you're not good enough as you are.

The action might look the same on the outside, but the intention behind it is different.

When you invest from a place of self-love, you're building on something you already value. You're enhancing, expressing and celebrating who you are.

But when your investments are driven by the belief that something about you needs to be fixed before you're worthy of being seen, it's worth pausing to question that belief.

5. I started before I was ready

I started speaking professionally at 29 years old. I didn't have much figured out.

I didn't know my story, my niche and I wasn't this 'impressive' business owner who had made thousands and millions of dollars. But my intuition kept pushing me to start NOW. One thing then led to another.

There's never a perfect time. But there's always a right one. You'll always want more money, more time or more experience before you start.

Let this be your sign to get started, no matter what stage of your journey you're at!

With love,

Sophie x

Want to stay connected?

• Follow me on Instagram here.

• Are you based in Canada? Become a member of Women Leaders Club Canada by making an application here.

• Interested to book Sophie as a speaker at your event to inspire your audience to connect with and share their authentic voice in front of an audience? Email her via: contact@sophiefengaras.com.